Nick Cannon wants to be 'a great entertainer'

JOHN ROGERS, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Originally published Wednesday, March 27, 2002

LOS ANGELES -- "I like peanut butter and egg sandwiches," Nick Cannon quickly volunteers when asked if there's anything special the world needs to know about one of Hollywood's youngest writer-producer-stars.

"It's heavy. You know what I mean? It will stick in your stomach for a while," the star of television's "The Nick Cannon Show" continues good-naturedly. "And I don't have a lot of time to eat, so when I do eat, I have to pick something that will stick with me."

For the 21-year-old Cannon, there seems to be no slowing down.

Not only is he starring in his own TV show for the Nickelodeon kids network, he writes and executive produces it as well.

After wrapping up a season's worth of shows, which took him on location from California to London, he headed to Atlanta to star in a movie for Fox called "Drumline." When that's done, he'll be going into the recording studio to finish up work on a rap album that will be the first release on Nickelodeon's new Nick Records label. He also has a small role in the forthcoming movie "Men In Black 2."

"I'm a workaholic," the affable young entertainer says by phone from Atlanta as he takes a brief lunch break on the set of "Drumline."

"I'm just constantly working," he continues. "That's the reason they've been calling me the Boy Wonder at Nick. Because I never sleep. But, hey, that's a compliment to me."

His show reflects much of his frenetic pace, with Cannon thrusting himself into fish-out-of-water situations week after week, generally prevailing through a combination of guile, wit and charm, as well as a willingness to try anything once.

"Most of it is spontaneous," he says of the show's adventures. "I just come up with an idea and then we just see how it goes. That's the beauty of it, to come up with a funny idea and see how far we can take it."

In search of outrageous moments, he has moved in with a family of strangers, tried to learn to rope and ride at a rodeo, joined the Army for a day, even flown to London where he was hassled at customs for putting a gag photo on his passport.

Along the way, he's found no dearth of young celebrity guest stars willing to play along, including Britney Spears, Master P and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs -- who discussed the merits of oven mitts with Cannon in an episode lampooning Combs' foray into the fashion business.

"That was cool," Cannon said, laughing. "You don't really know how it's going to go down, but when you sit down with him he's just playful. You wouldn't think he's just this really funny guy, but he is."

Nickelodeon, meanwhile, has had a history of developing fresh-faced stars with brash, offbeat shows that appeal to fans ranging in age from toddler years to early teens.

Melissa Joan Hart of WB's "Sabrina" got her big break talking to the camera in "Clarissa Explains it All." Amanda Bynes launched her hit "Amanda" show after appearances on other Nick vehicles. Actor-comedians Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell of "Kenan and Kel" found each other on the network's "All That" variety show.

But even by Nickelodeon's standards Cannon is unusual, says Kevin Kay, a vice president in charge of network production.

"I joke that he's the youngest executive producer in Hollywood, and people think that's just a line," says Kay. "But I'll tell you, when you see Nick in the editing room, and every script that comes in has his name on it. ... He's doing the work. He's kind of like an industry. For Nick, the hardest thing will be to decide ultimately which direction he wants to go in."

For his part, Cannon has already decided.

"I want to do it all," he says, laughing. "I want a Nick Cannon doll. I want a Nick Cannon cereal named after me."

He got his start early, fooling around with the TV equipment his father, a television evangelist with a public access program, left around the house in North Carolina.

By 12, he'd gotten good enough doing impressions of people such as Mike Tyson and Michael Jackson that his father taped five minutes worth and put them on the air for comic relief.

Smitten with performance, Cannon doubled up on his classes, graduated from high school a year early and headed to Hollywood.

"I just really want to be the best entertainer I could possibly be, whether in film or standup or on television or whatever," he says, pausing for a moment to be a bit more reflective. "I just want to reach that level where people remember me as a great entertainer."

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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